CRISM is a visible-infrared imaging spectrometer with a scanable field of view. CRISM can cover wavelengths from 0.362 to 3.92 microns (362 to 3920 nanometers) at 6.55 nanometers/channel, enabling the CRISM team to identify a broad range of minerals on the Martian surface.

CRISM is flying on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, or MRO, launched in August 2005 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.